Okay the title is a little overblown to attract attention. (And Liberals must be so happy that I don’t have them to bash while Santorum is around because hell his comments are so out of left field I can’t call them liberal, socialist or progressive—they’re just dumb.)

But, in a 2008 speech on how Satan is waging war against America (and I’ll put the whole speech at the end here, so yes he is really talking about Lucifer himself in a war against the U.S.A., not some detached conception of evil, but a very real, very personal, very evil being known as Beelzebub working to personally destroy the United States…that alone makes me very worried about Santorum, but I realize there could actually be well meaning people who believe that and I’m not going to quibble over the finer points of theology here).

“[O]nce the colleges fell and those who were being educated in our institutions, the next was the church. Now you’d say, ‘wait, the Catholic Church’? No. We all know that this country was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic but the Judeo-Christian ethic was a Protestant Judeo-Christian ethic, sure the Catholics had some influence, but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.”

Now people I respect have said that I’m reading too much into this, that he is not saying Protestants are not Christians, but I think this opinion is wrong. Look at what he says.

“[M]ainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it [mainline Protestantism] is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.”

I find it hard to say that something is gone from the “world of Christianity” and still be within the concept of Christianity. But of course one wonders what “non” mainline Protestants are still within the “world of Christianity”? (Why I do I feel like looking in Westboro to find what Santorum considers good Protestants? Cheap shot, I know, but am I wrong?) And of course in the context of the speech about how Satan is destroying the U.S. from within, this basically implies Protestants are, at worst in league with, and at best have been corrupted by the Devil…and, while I don’t want to insult Catholics in general, I don’t think they’re the incorruptible force that Santorum seems to suggest they are. They’ve had their era where they are better than other religions, and eras where they are worse, Catholics are human and have good days and bad…but no incorruptible ones.

But, you know what let’s assume I am reading too much into this. That actually reading the basic syntax, grammar and logic of Santorum’s speech is going too far and I shouldn’t take his bigoted remarks at face value.

No matter what, you have a man, who wants to be President, making very public statements about the inferiority of other religions. That’s very clear there. Even if you give this the most lenient reading, he is still not having a private view on his religion, he is publically insulting another faith…claiming that whatever corruption there is in America is because of the it’s Protestant heritage.

This, and so much of what Santorum has to say, might be appropriate for a fire-and-brimstone preacher from the pulpit…but not from a Presidential candidate. We have had very religious men in the presidency, and we have had men who are ordained serve in other public offices (before you ask, I’m honestly not sure if we have had any women who were ordained serve in office, I couldn’t find an answer in a brief search on the web)…but never have we ever had a man who acts like a preacher serve in the highest office in the land. Why? Because we’re not Iran. Even though I will argue atheists and the ACLU see a wall of separation between church and state that isn’t in the Constitution, there has always been a fear of letting a single religion rule over this nation, which is why there were laws for religious freedom in the original colonies and why the First Amendment was drafted. We, as a nation, believe that people should be deeply spiritual, but were never going to be so arrogant to say we know the mind of God with absolute certainty. An arrogance that Santorum demonstrates in spades. An attitude I’ve certainly seen in history during the religious wars of the late Renaissance and early Enlightenment…but certainly not common in the modern world, and certainly unfit for the head of a free nation.

One must wonder if, as one could reasonably conclude from these statements, his beliefs are so antithetical to the principles of the First Amendment, how warm and fuzzy he must feel about the rest of the document. I don’t care that this speech was made a Catholic college to a friendly audience–this is behavior unbefitting the head of a free nation.

And I’ll be honest as a New Ager, a follower of a pagan belief, I have to ask if he’s willing to imply a relationship between Satan and the Protestants…what do I have to look forward to? Am I actually going to have to join the ACLU if this dipshit gets elected? Probably.

As I said here is the whole speech…

And please understand this is not an attack on Santorum’s Catholic beliefs or Catholicism in general. I have numerous leanings towards the Thomist philosophers of Catholicism, and a deep respect for the actual doctrine and traditions of the church (even many of the ones I don’t agree with). But Santorum is not representative of the best in Catholicism…and I would argue not even representative of the middling level of Catholicism.

[Update 2-21-2012. Well after 3 days since I found out about it, and 4 years since he gave the speech, Rick’s comments are now the #1 story on the Drudge Report…I think the MSM now will cover it, but only because Drudge forced them to, not because they want to.]

Oh I think half the voting pool is being conservative. He alienated half the voting pool when he made his comments that boiled down to women should be barefoot and pregnant. He’s alienated half of what’s left with this Protestants (and really he’s suggesting anyone who isn’t a Catholic) may be unwittingly in the employ of Satan. So that’s at least 75% of the electorate, and that’ being generous to Santorum. And of the Catholic men left I’m sure some must be fiscal conservatives, which as we know is a policy he is deeply opposed to. I figure at least 80% of the Republican party should logically loathe this man’s guts.

sarahpainterbooks:Some days I need to be gentle with myself, to remind myself that I am a fallible and fragile human and that it’s okay if I only write one paragraph (or go out for a ‘creativity-enhancing’ walk instead of writing).Other days, I just need to read this.

asexualconservative:Russia is on the advance of its conquestISIS is on the counter attack to spread radical islamIran is going to get the bomb and threaten the worldChina is buying the world to spread its control and communismAnd you want me to believe that Isreal is the greater evil?Like I’m generally afraid of fucking world war three here and you want to c […]